


Ground Rules

by Fortune_Maiden



Category: Gravity Rush
Genre: F/F, Humor, Post-GR2, Treat, roommate shenanigans-ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-12-27 20:13:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12088521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fortune_Maiden/pseuds/Fortune_Maiden
Summary: Raven and Kat move in together.The pipe was not meant to house two people.





	Ground Rules

**Author's Note:**

  * For [prosodiical](https://archiveofourown.org/users/prosodiical/gifts).



> For prosodiical
> 
> I really love Gravity Rush and was really happy to be able to write this treat for you. I hope you like it!

They definitely needed a bigger bed.

Kat wasn’t sure how it would fit—her current twin was already barely wedged in and taking up half the pipe space—but they’d have to figure it out. Soon. First thing in the morning. Because she couldn’t. Take. _This_. _Anymore_!

She couldn’t move at all. Her limbs were pinned in place by the body on top of hers and she wasn’t entirely sure how’d she gotten into this twisted position by the very edge of the mattress. She was hot too. The warmth of another human being was great and all but not when they were this close. At the same time her exposed limbs felt an unpleasant chill. The blanket had been stolen completely. And on top of that, Raven snored. Kat did too (Lisa and Syd both testified to that), so she couldn’t really fault Raven for it too much. But she could fault her for snoring right in Kat’s ear _and_ blocking out any other nighttime noise she might have heard.

“Psst, Raven,” Kat tried. “Move over.” Raven mumbled something sleepily but to Kat’s unexpected delight, she did move slightly. To Kat’s expected disappointment, her movement had loosened her grip on Kat’s torso _just_ enough for the latter to be released from the pretzel and fall right off the bed with a thud.

Raven immediately stole what was left of Kat’s spot. Kat’s startled cry as she fell went completely unnoticed. Dusty and Xii glanced up at her for a moment, but then immediately went back to sleep as though nothing had happened. Typical.

Kat blew a strand of hair out of her face and sighed heavily. She couldn’t stretch out but at least she could still curl up on the floor.

* * *

Hekseville hadn’t changed in the year Kat was gone. Well, no, that was a lie. Trade had been established with Jirga Para Lhao, Lisa was finding a place in Hekseville politics, Vogo and Fi started a new business, Syd started up a detective agency, Newt and Echo had their baby—a lot had changed. But the city wasn’t suddenly militarized or filled with new technology and Kat wasn’t forgotten (again), so in that sense, for once, Kat could really feel like she’d come home.

In the year she was gone, Raven had taken up residence in her pipe, keeping Kat’s bed warm and adding her own personal touch here and there. So after the tearful, huggy reunion, Raven put on her cool aloof face again and declared she had no intention of moving out. It was a good home.

“I know right!” Kat agreed excitedly. Raven got it. She didn’t give Kat any odd looks about her choice of residence. And after a year of being apart, Raven didn’t want to leave Kat’s side, so living together felt only natural.

It was a great solution! They spent all their time together anyway, and even before getting caught up in that gravity storm, they used to hang out at Kat’s place constantly. So why not live together? Raven was happy, Kat was excited and life in the pipe got much more vibrant.

At least until night fell and sleeping arrangements proved pitiful.

As then Kat learned that Raven liked to stay out late.

And eat on the bed. Which Kat was also guilty of, but that was beside the point.

And Raven was also just kind of a slob in general. A beautiful sexy slob, but her fanclub would have probably been pretty horrified to learn how she lived.

But next to the bed, the biggest sticking point was Kat and Raven had entirely different tastes in home décor.

* * *

“Where did the desk go?” Kat came home one day to a pipe that contained a television, Dusty’s bed, the too-small bed and a plant. The plant was new.

“I put it away,” Raven said, flipping through a magazine on the bed. There was also an open bag of cookies beside her.

“Why? I liked that desk!”

“Kat, in all of the time I lived here, I have never once seen you use it.”

“W-well that’s because I only use it when you’re not here!” Kat countered furiously. It was clearly a lie though, so she also added. “And it’s not about use, it’s about character! The desk gave this place some sophistication.”

Raven grinned. “Then it’s not a problem. The plant does that too. His name’s Charlie.”

“You named the plant?”  

“I did.”

“Why Charlie? He looks more like a Fern.”

“He’s a ficus.”

“Oh, okay—wait, no, not okay, I want my desk back!” Kat stamped her foot for emphasis. She could tolerate Raven changing the mirror and curtains (they did clash with the rest of the décor admittedly) and buying Dusty a bigger bed so he could share with Xii (even though his old bed was so small and cute), and Kat had even been fine with the magazine rack replacing her old unused bookshelf for a time. But taking her desk was going too far!

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry,” Raven said with a sigh. “I didn’t realize it meant so much to you.” Didn’t she though? Kat knew she told her she liked that desk plenty of times. She’d also told her she liked the old mirror and the clashing curtains and Dusty’s old bed and the unused bookshelf.

She also liked the TV and the carpet, she made sure to tell Raven that now.

“I think you just like anything you put in yourself,” Raven pointed out.

“Well, yeah. I put it out for a reason.” The reason being that it struck her fancy at the time. In reality Kat frequently changed her décor around as well, generally putting things into whatever free spot she had left to avoid moving Raven’s things unless it was absolutely necessary.

(Sometimes it was necessary.)

“Alright, I get it. So you don’t like Charlie?”

Kat paused mid-rant and looked at the plant carefully. It _was_ a good-looking shrub.

“…I like Charlie.”

The next time Kat came home, Charlie the ficus was out by the ladder and his previous spot was returned to her desk.

* * *

They worked out a chore wheel. The pipe didn’t require too much maintenance, it just needed to be cleaned, the dishes needed to be washed, the trash needed to be taken out, and the sheets needed to be laundered regularly. The latter task was especially necessary because the pipe had always had a minor insect problem, and the crumbs on the sheets were like a banquet for them.

“I never noticed,” Raven said when Kat told her about it, but agreed to the chore wheel.

The idea was that Kat and Raven would _both_ —emphasis Kat’s—keep their beautiful home sparkling and comfortable, but it only took a week for Kat to start seriously questioning how Raven ever lived by herself. Not just in the pipehouse, but in general. It wasn’t that Raven didn’t do her share her of the chores—she did—but she…wasn’t very good at it.

Any other time, Kat would have relished the small victory of actually being better than Raven as something, but now she was just baffled. And frustrated.

The bathroom wasn’t scrubbed hard enough. The dishes looked like they’d been held under running water for a few seconds and put away. The trash wasn’t separated. And the laundry—

“I did it yesterday,” Raven said exasperated. “You were there.”

“I was,” Kat agreed. “But you put the sheets away before they fully dried. Now they feel all damp and gross.”

“I—

“And I don’t think you soaked them in long enough. Or used enough fabric softener.”

“The sheets are already plenty soft. If anything, I think you’re thinning them out with all this frequent washing.”

“I just want them to be clean, that’s all,” Kat said plainly. Raven’s eyes narrowed and she looked like she was ready to argue further, but instead stretched back out onto the perfectly soft bed and said.

“Alright, I’ll defer to you.”

From that point, Kat felt as though she were the only one doing any chores around the house.

Things were definitely up to her standards that way, _but_ _that was beside the point._

* * *

“I don’t think this is working,” Kat sat down on the bed, her shoulders slumped and expression cross. Her back was sore from another night in an awkward position somewhere between the mattress and the floor, and she was done.

She loved Raven. She loved living together. She loved spending all of this time together. But she just didn’t love living _with_ her.

Kat prided herself on being an honest person. She wore her heart on her sleeve and never hesitated to tell anyone exactly what she thought of them. She didn’t want to keep stretching this tense living situation out and risk hurting their closeness. They had to talk.

So they did. Or rather, Kat did. Raven had sat down on the bed beside her and listened quietly, without interruption.

“—and we’re practically on top of each other when we sleep—which would be fine on a bigger bed, I don’t mind the closeness, but I can’t move at all and half the time I end up on the floor! Usually because you push me. Also, you’re kind of a blanket hog.

“And you’re always staying out late. I do worry, you know! And you leave crumbs on the bed, and constantly redecorate, and I’m the only one practically doing any chores these days. Seriously how did you ever survive down here by yourself?”

“Perfectly fine,” Raven muttered under her breath, and stood up. “But, I get it. I’ll leave.”

“Huh!” Kat’s next retort froze mid-thought. “Wait what? No!”

But Raven had already started floating.

“It’s fine Kat. We don’t have to live together.”

“B-but it’s more fun that way!” Kat exclaimed. “Watching TV, gossiping over the latest trends, sharing snacks! Yeah the bed’s pretty cramped for sleeping, but just lying side-by-side is nice.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll still come by,” Raven assured her and flew off before Kat could say anything else.

“But I don’t want to be apart,” Kat shouted, even though Raven was long out of ear shot. It only took her a moment to lock eyes with Dusty before she was soaring through the air after Raven.

* * *

“Raven, I’m really, really sorry!”

Kat wasn’t sure Raven could hear her at their distance, but she decided to keep on shouting it until the message came across.

“I thought about it some more and it really wasn’t all you! I’m a terrible roommate too!” Over the skies of Pleajeune, it occurred to Kat that she was being extremely childish. Yeah there were issues, but her passive-aggressiveness hadn’t been a solution. Heck, she was guilty of some of the exact things she’d complained about!

“Please come back, we’ll make it work!” Over the skies of Endestria, Raven had turned to look at her briefly before speeding up. Kat only increased her speed as well, not about to let Raven slip away. They could make it work! Kat wasn’t sure how exactly yet, but that was the beauty of being together. Kat didn’t have to figure it out by herself.

“…Hey Raven, I think there’s a robbery in progress over at the bank. Give me a minute to go deal with it.” Over the skies of Vendecentre, Kat broke off from her flight path because duty called, and to her credit, Raven paused to watch the show.

It wasn’t an impressive heist or anything. Just five mask-wearing men, a getaway vehicle and a few bags of stolen loot loaded into it. It was nothing more than a warm up exercise for Kat to swiftly capture all of the men in her stasis field and let them float there. Normally she would have kept her hold on them until the police arrived, but she was in a hurry and did have some pent up frustrations, so instead of holding them, she flew over to a few buildings and carefully hung the men onto poles by their sweaters.

As Kat did that, Raven decided she was bored waiting and captured the getaway vehicle and parked it on the roof of the bank upside down. Since they’d need to wait for the police to arrive and collect the bandits anyway, they took the opportunity to meet up in front of the bank, blending into the crowd of entertained onlookers.

“Thanks for the assist,” Kat said with a bright smile.

“No problem. You could have saved a robber for me though,” Raven replied, but there was no smile and her arms were crossed. “And you accuse me of hogging things?”

“That’s completely different!” Kat frowned. “And you are a blanket hog!”

“Well you’re a control freak.”

“Okay, I probably deserve that one. But only because I want our home to look nice!”

“You mean “your home” right?”

“I mean—

“Kat? Raven?”

At the sound of their names, Kat and Raven stopped their argument and turned to the speaker. Chaz’s unit had arrived, with Syd in tow, and the two of them looked up at the buildings of Vendecentre, where the robbers still hung.

“Ha. Nice one,” Syd laughed when he saw the getaway car on the roof of the bank.

“But also unnecessary,” Chaz remarked. “You couldn’t just hold them until we got there?”

“Sorry Chaz, but we were in the middle of something,” Kat apologized and turned back to Raven. “Of course I mean “our home”! You lived there for a year! It’s just as much yours!”

“But you get the final say in any decorations.”

“Well…there’s no reason to put away the things I set out without asking me. Besides, I liked Charlie!”

“You made him sleep outside.”

“You were the one who put him there!”

“Um, ladies?” Syd tried to cut in only to get a glare for his troubles.

“Not now, Syd.”

“This doesn’t concern you.”

Syd held his hands up to show he conceded. He didn’t want to interrupt their argument, but he thought it was only fair to warn them that Chaz was losing patience. The robbers continued to hang in place as well, wearing expressions of utter defeat.

The argument continued, until Chaz finally did lose patience. “Kat! Raven! You two are welcome to continue this discussion, but will one of you _please_ round up our suspects already?”

Chaz had a way of appearing perfectly calm and collected when raising his voice. That made him a little terrifying even before one learned about his penchant for explosives, so his words went through and the two Gravity Shifters immediately quieted down.

“Sorry Chaz,” Kat sighed. “Give me a minute.”

A minute later, the suspects were rounded up and loaded into the police van.

“Thank you,” Chaz said evenly.

“What’s up with you two anyway?” Syd asked. “Trouble in paradise?”

“What paradise?” Raven scowled.

“It’s nothing,” Kat assured them. “Just a little domestic dispute.”

“You say dispute, but you’re kicking me out.”

“I just chased you all over Hekseville apologizing and begging you to come back. I am _not_ kicking you out.”

“If the alternative is keeping my head low and doing everything you say, I’d rather you did.”

“No one’s asking that!” Kat groaned. Raven was being difficult on purpose. “The pipe is just really small. We have to compromise on some things. Like the bed.”

“Ah so that’s what it is,” Syd chuckled as the back and forth resumed once again.

“I don’t get it,” Chaz said. “If it’s an issue of space, why not just move out and find someplace bigger?”

The words were like magic in that they immediately ended the arguing. Instead the two girls stared at Chaz as though he’d just grown a second head.

“Oh boy.” Syd knew what was coming and clapped his friend on the shoulder sympathetically.

“Move out?” Kat sputtered.

“That’s ridiculous!” Raven agreed.

“How could you even suggest that?”

“Abandoning our home like that.”

“I’m sorry?” Chaz frowned, not entirely sure of what happened.

“I bet you think any old pipe is good enough,” Kat snapped.

“You don’t understand how wonderful our home is at all, do you?” Raven added.

Then she and Kat turned to each other.

“You get it, right Raven? It’s our pipe,” Kat said softly.

“Yes, it is,” Raven said, a smile forming on her face. She meant it too. Sure it wasn't the most glamorous place to live, but she wouldn't want to live anywhere else. And she knew Kat felt the same way.

“Raven, let’s go back,” Kat said and held out her hand. “I’m really sorry about before.”

“I’m sorry too,” Raven said and took the outstretched hand in hers. “Let’s go home.”

As the two of them flew off in harmony, Chaz smacked his forehead as he realized the getaway car and the stolen money remained upside down on the bank’s roof.

* * *

With a yelp, Kat fell out of the bed and onto the floor. Unlike, previous nights though, Raven lifted her head, and scooted over in the other direction.

“Sorry,” she said.

“It’s fine,” Kat muttered and climbed back in and tried to find some way to get comfortable.

“This bed really is too small,” Raven lamented.

“Yeah. We can’t even cuddle properly.” Kat moved into Raven’s outstretched arms. It was less a tender embrace and more a “keep-Kat-from-falling” grip, though how successful it was varied by night.

“We really do need to figure something out about this,” Raven said and laid her head on Kat’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Kat agreed. “But something that isn’t “moving out”.” Suddenly, she sat up with an excited smile, the abrupt motion almost knocking Raven off the edge. “Hey, do you think it’d be possible to widen the pipe?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope this was okay!!!
> 
> I like roommate shenanigans and hopefully some of those came through in those fics but I also liked the idea of Kat and Raven living together in the pipe and having to actually learn to adjust to that lifestyle because they're both fiercely independent and stubborn (in different ways) so decided to go with that angle. And Kat and Raven casually beating up baddies on the side, because that's what Gravity Shifters do! 
> 
> I'll stop rambling now. I really hope you enjoyed this story!


End file.
